1349 “The Wolf & The King”
Hailing from the frozen lands of the Norwegian capital of Oslo, a hotbed and birthplace for the second wave of traditional black metal. An area that brought us diabolical acts such as Mayhem, Burzum and Gorgoroth to name just a few of the great many. An all too familiar place, famous from within the black metal scene world wide. It is no wonder a band such as 1349 took shape and forged their infernal sound from within and scorched the earth with their multitude of albums.
From a stance of disillusioned discord based on the direction that black metal was heading all those years ago within the mid 90’s Ravn formed the band 1349 within the year of 1997 with one vision in mind. To maintain a legacy of what “trv kvlt” black metal is. Continuing their crusade even to this day, the band releases their eight full length album The Wolf & The King on October 4, 2024 under the great banner of Season of Mist.
This latest sortie in their crusade comes an infernal symphony of chaotic magic that captures the primordial essence of esoterica and displays this within eight solid tracks that are enriched within the elements of traditional Norwegian black metal for 38:42 minutes. Sadly, I am a bit late to the release of this review due to a move, so without further delay, let's dive into this.
Diving first into the album art, the shading, tones and detail are impressive. From a symbolic standpoint based on the overall feel, the album art may draw inspiration from the king of a suit within a deck of cards. A serpent entangled branch encompasses a king adorning a crown depicting faces above a reddish hue. The bronze armor depicts a wolf head before the ouroboros. Alchemical symbolism encased in blood red decorates the armor and sword hilts. Two swords, one facing upwards the other facing downwards. An occult symbolism is being displayed here and done so beautifully. The Band name is within the upper left as the album title sits bottom right.
A raw chord progression paired with drum rolls starts off the track “The God Devourer”. A familiar tone that remains within the legacy of 1349. Ravn’s demonic visceral vocals take the track into a dark tone as it describes an alchemical principle of devouring all within your path of enlightenment and self betterment. An ominous tone that builds with the subtle guitar riffs. Really love what they did here with the subtle dynamic undertone amongst the raw overture.
“Inferior Pathways” takes off with some solid power chord progressions coated in a barrage of blast beats that leads into the main vocals. I enjoy the subtle harmonized chords that often shine through, adding further layers to the track before it breaks into a well placed solo.
“Inner Portal” enters with a decent but simple groove bass that quickly breaks into the raw chaotic madness of the track. A nice use of triplets can be heard that builds into a decent chord progression. A flair from a chord progression of the lead can be heard popping in an out before shredding into a decent riff. The vocals just add to the dynamic layers of this track as the bass compliments the drum rolls and blast beats.
This album is keeping true to the traditional grimness and grotesque obscurity that is traditional black metal. There are a lot of esoteric, alchemical and even some astrological depictions that are painted throughout the album's tracks. As I have stated prior, a diabolical symphony of raw chaotic esoterics. The Wolf & The King is a well produced album with all the levels sitting where they need to be. Each track offers a little something but still remains true to the legacy of 1349. After a five year wait, it was well worth it.
Closing off the album we have the track “Fatalist” which begins with an ominous chord progression that leads into some drum rolls. A thick bass coats the track as the vocals kick in. Various chant-like vocals kick in between the thatched visceral main vocals. A slower pace that carries on with great use of dyads that ring out under chanting vocals. The pace does hasten a bit, especially near the end of the track, as if to build a manic intensity. Such a fitting end.
The Wolf & The King is a raw, fast paced album that's well produced and offers up that traditional element and tone of the Norwegian black metal's second wave. 1349 carries on with their legacy and crusade offering you what they feel is true black metal. As a fan of black metal, I personally enjoyed this and recommend that you go get a copy. With the original lineup still intact and their sound remaining as a staple within the genre, you have to hand it to these talented musicians with a passion for “Trv Kvlt” black metal. They make music the way they feel it should be and I respect that.
SCORE: 9 / 10
